Plastic is used everywhere, for everything. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, many of these products come wrapped in unnecessary plastic packaging that all too often ends up in our streets, oceans, or landfill sites when it can’t be recycled. Reusable packaging and containers are central to a circular economy for plastic because it helps to eliminate waste and plastic pollution by replacing single-use items with longer lasting alternatives. Opting for reusable alte

As plastic is part of our lives, using innovative solutions for waste management may be necessary. However, this can mislead the public into believing that plastic use is sustainable. When considering the consequences and complexities, these may not be sustainable solutions at all. Improved recycling collections - As plastic is part of our lives, it is obviously desirable to recycle as much of our waste as possible. Innovative collection methods may lead to higher rates of r

Sustainable plastic solutions attempt to solve the plastic problem with innovation. Rather than reducing plastic production and use, ‘sustainable’ bioplastics have been developed, and better waste management processes have been proposed instead. Improved recycling collections have been suggested as a sustainable plastics solution. The more plastic that is appropriately collected, the more plastic gets recycled. However, a more complex system of collection may confuse or demot

Biodegradable plastics (a type of bioplastic) have been developed to attempt to mitigate the plastic waste management problem. Plastic once produced, doesn’t just disappear. It’s either sent to landfill, incinerated, recycled (only 9% of plastic has ever been recycled), or ends up polluting the environment. Biodegradable plastics can be broken down by microorganisms into safe by-products such as water, natural gas and biomass. A big concern with biodegradable plastics is whet

From a plastic bottle to microplastic particles, told as if it happened in a single day 6:00 AM It began the workday at 6 AM: filled, capped, handed to someone in a hurry. It held water for twenty minutes, then was put down and, missing the recycling bin by a few steps, dropped into a drain instead. It is made of PET, which is a recyclable plastic engineered to resist breaking down. It is built for permanence, but used within minutes. 9:00 AM Rain carried it to a stream, the

When we think about responding to the climate crisis, transitioning our energy systems away from oil and gas has always been clear. But what about investment in petrochemicals? Petrochemicals are fossil-fuel-derived substances – they’re used to produce a range of synthetic materials and substances, including plastics and fertilisers. Not only are they heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but they have the highest energy demand of all industrial sectors, and will likely override l

Many of us rely on ready meals to feed ourselves and our families as they’re a convenient way of eating our favourite dishes. Chowing down on these meals regularly can have an adverse effect on your health, but not in the way you might think. Though there’s conflicting evidence on exactly how much is released, a body of research is warning of the plastics that leach into the food from these containers, particularly when they’re heated in the microwave. Fatty food and acidic f

When people picture the environmental toll of the war in Ukraine, they usually think of scorched fields, contamination, or leaking fuel depots. But a newer form of plastic pollution is spreading across the frontline, carried in on the back of the war's most iconic weapon: the drone. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces increasingly rely on fibre-optic-guided drones, which trail a physical cable back to the operator of up to 41 kilometres instead of using radio. This makes them m

When you hear of plastic ocean pollution, you may only think of images of floating waste like The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (litter that has ended up spinning on the surface of the North Pacific Ocean) — a large and visible reminder of the scale of plastic pollution in our oceans. However, what’s less discussed is what’s actually happening beneath the surface. What does plastic ocean pollution do to marine life that is less visible? It affects marine life in many ways. Pl

Menstrual products are essential for health, hygiene, and wellbeing, enabling millions of people to manage menstruation safely and participate fully in daily life. However, while these products provide important benefits, many commonly used disposable options also have significant environmental impacts, particularly through plastic pollution. Disposable menstrual products such as sanitary pads, tampons, and their applicators are often made from a combination of cotton, wood p

Africa is disproportionately affected by plastic pollution despite contributing just 5% of global plastic production. Waste dumping, discarded textiles and plastic products sold by multinational corporations reflect a wider environmental injustice whereby waste generated in the Global North is exported to lower-income countries. This has prompted many environmental campaigners to describe the practice as plastic colonialism. Yet this is only part of the story. Alongside the

Plastic is often seen as a miracle material. It certainly has useful properties: it’s durable, versatile and cheap. But what exactly is plastic? Plastics are moldable materials made up of polymers – long chains made from repeating molecules. Almost all plastics are derived from fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. These contain a mixture of hydrocarbons which are processed in various stages to make plastic: Refining - Fossil fuels are extracted and refined into pro

As the public has become more concerned about plastic, Coca-Cola has deliberately hidden how harmful their products are to the environment. Coca-Cola is the world’s biggest plastic polluter and yet they present themselves as a sustainable brand. Coca-Cola has used deceptive advertising and misleading claims about their plastic packaging. They have presented recycling as the solution to the plastic problem, whilst producing more and more plastic. They have offered various vol

Soft plastic pollution is a global problem that negatively impacts the environment and the health of people living in countries with the most vulnerable climates and waste management systems. The corporations behind soft plastic pollution have not done enough to invest in effective waste management systems to handle the soft plastic they produce. Therefore, governments and consumers play a vital role in creating protections against soft plastic pollution. Various governmen

Single-use soft plastics, such as sachets and crisp packets, are produced on a massive scale but are nearly impossible to recycle. Nevertheless, they are exported across the world for waste management. The sorting process for soft plastic waste is difficult and requires that workers identify and separate over seven different types of plastics, often by burning them and smelling the fumes produced. To be recycled, the sorted plastic must then be cut into fine pieces, washed, a

Single-use soft plastics, such as sachets and crisp packets, are produced on a massive scale but are nearly impossible to recycle. Inadequate investment in waste management results in these plastics ending up in rivers, oceans, streets, and backyards across the world. The trouble with sachets… Soft plastics - defined as flexible plastic materials that do not hold a specific shape - are produced from natural gas or fossil fuels that are extracted from shale (a rock composed of

Danone is a French food and drink giant and a major plastic polluter. In September 2022, a coalition of anti-plastic NGOs, including ClientEarth, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and Zero Waste France, issued a legal warning to Danone, in an effort to get the mega corporation to publish statistics about its global plastic pollution. However, this warning was ignored. In January of 2023, the coalition filed a lawsuit against Danone over its failure to comply with French due dilige

The UK’s recycling rates are around 70% lower than in leading Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) countries with return rates exceeding 90% such as Germany, Finland and Norway. Financially incentivising recycling and reducing waste is important, but our end goal must be a reuse, not throwaway, economy. A DRS that includes glass is key. Glass is infinitely recyclable (although currently energy intensive). Inclusion of glass, as seen in Wales’ proposed model, helps improve resource re

If there’s one thing to take away from the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025) and the ocean plastics crisis, it’s that solutions do exist, but that they’re not scaling, not enforced and not shared equally. Cleanup technology may help in pollution hotspot areas, but they treat symptoms, not causes and are cost intensive. Recycling has a role, but its effectiveness is vastly overstated and most plastics are actually not recyclable to date. Individual actions - whilst

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is an important step towards reducing litter and waste, but real progress means moving away from single-use packaging entirely. There are different types of DRS, some focusing on recycling single-use items, whilst others, particularly for glass, promote reuse. The idea behind DRS in the UK is to incentivise consumers to recycle drinks containers, but focusing on a reuse system is a better option. Recycling plastic doesn’t always work. When it